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STORY: Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio said on Tuesday (March 1) that his campaign is seeing frontrunner Donald Trump's polling numbers going down in state after state, telling supporters that the true nature of the billionaire businessman is being revealed.
"Five days ago we began to explain to the American people that Donald Trump is a con-artist," Rubio said. "And in just five days we have seen the impact it is having all across the country."
Trump rolled up a series of big primary wins on Tuesday, taking home Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Virginia.
But Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, won his home state and neighboring Oklahoma, stopping Trump's winning streak and giving hope to Republicans looking for a way to stop Trump's potential rise to the nomination.
Opinion polls heading into the voting had shown Trump leading in most of the 12 states up for grabs, raising the possibility of a big night that would intensify worries among Republican leaders who fear the billionaire could inflict long-term damage on the party.
Rubio saw increased support among Republican voters after a strong debate performance last week during which he took off the gloves against Trump. A Reuters-Ipsos poll showed support for Rubio on 20 percent, up from 14 percent, with Trump still ahead with 42 percent support.
Super Tuesday is the biggest single day of state-by-state contests to select party nominees for the Nov. 8 election to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama.